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No one could have predicted that the grudge match between Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson would end up as a five round war that will likely be remembered as one of the best middleweight title fights in history.
Bisping entered the fight as a sizable favorite, with 63 percent of fantasy players picking him to get the win over Henderson, who accepted the challenge knowing that this would be the final fight of his legendary career, win or lose.
Henderson wasn’t going away without giving Bisping everything he could handle, especially when he dropped the champion with his signature right hand towards the latter part of the opening round. Out of the 37 percent of players who picked Henderson to win, a whopping 92 percent said he would finish the fight with a knockout over Bisping.
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Henderson nearly proved them all correct with his near finish in the first round, but he couldn’t quite put Bisping away and the middleweight champion came storming back over the next four rounds. In the end, Bisping got the victory by unanimous decision as he made his first successful title defense while Henderson calls it a career after one more fight that will be remembered forever.
In the co-main event, Gegard Mousasi demolished Vitor Belfort by TKO after a stifling performance where he never allowed the Brazilian a moment to breathe until he put him away in the second round. Mousasi was a big favorite going into the night with 67 percent of players picking him to win and another 41 percent saying he’d finish Belfort by knockout.
While both Bisping and Mousasi were favorites in the main and co-main event, neither came close to matching the lopsided numbers for two more featured bouts on the UFC 204 Pay-Per-View card.
Stefan Struve was picked to win by a whopping 83 percent of players in his matchup with Daniel Omielanczuk. Struve proved players right with a second round D’Arce choke submission to win his second fight in a row. Meanwhile, top-rated featherweight prospect Mirsad Bektic finally returned after more than a year on the shelf due to injury but didn’t skip a beat in his bout with Hawaiian fighter Russell Doane. Bektic finished the fight with a rear naked choke submission after a lopsided 86 percent of players picked him to get the win on Saturday night.
While four favorites ruled the main card, there was a huge upset according to the odds from fantasy players after Jimi Manuwa knocked Ovince Saint Preux out in the second round in their light heavyweight showdown at UFC 205. Manuwa was picked by just 18 percent of players going into the card, but he came through with flying colors as he finished the fight in spectacular fashion.
Prior to the main card, the FS1 prelims not only showcased a lot of top talent, but it was a thrilling affair, with all four bouts ending by either knockout or submission. At the top of the card, Iuri Alcantara absolutely decimated home country favorite Brad Pickett with a first round triangle choke submission. Going into the card, Alcantara was a very slight favorite, with 51 percent of players picking him to win.
Damian Stasiak pulled off a monstrous upset when he submitted Davey Grant after only 15 percent of players selected him ahead of the card. Leon Edwards joined Stasiak aboard the upset express after just 19 percent of players picked him to beat Albert Tumenov, but the British welterweight showcased some amazing ground acumen to get the win by submission in the third round.
The early prelims on UFC FIGHT PASS both provided positive results for the favorites going into the night as Mike Perry earned another impressive TKO win with his third round stoppage of Danny Roberts. Perry was picked by 71 percent of players with another 62 percent picking him by knockout. Leonardo Santos also pulled off an impressive win over Adriano Martins after he was selected by 64 percent of players going into UFC 204.
When it was done, UFC 204 saw eight favorites walk away victorious with only three upsets, according to fantasy players, taking place on Saturday night.
